Ask Questions About Bipolar Disorder

Hi dedicated WebMD fans!

Do you or a loved one have bipolar disorder? Would you be interested in participating in a phone or video interview with WebMD about bipolar disorder? If so, just send an email to webmdcommunity@webmd.net and include a little of your story and any questions you would like to ask.

Be sure to provide your full name, your location (city and state,) and the best way for the WebMD staff to get in touch with you to follow up. (If you'd rather not use your real name for the interview, that's perfectly fine.)

Please do NOT post any of your personal information on this blog.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Leona

Talk About Swine Flu at WebMD

As the number of cases of Swine Flu (H1N1) continues to escalate in the United States and around the world, our members here at WebMD have shown their concern and asked some GREAT questions.

Are we blowing this "pandemic" out of proportion?

What are the real dangers?

What if I'm already fighting another illness or condition?

How do I protect my kids?

We have a wonderful place here in the WebMD Community where you can talk with others about your thoughts, feelings, and worries, as well as compare notes on what’s going on in the news and in your own area. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and join in the discussion on our General Health message board!

Our medical and editorial staff will also be choosing questions from our members to feature in upcoming stories or on our WebMD News Watch blog.

See you there!

Leona

WebMD Lists FAQ

WebMD is launching a great new product that we hope our members will enjoy. Following is a series of Frequently Asked Questions that you'll need when you get ready to use the new Lists product.

We'll be posting a notice when the first one is up and ready to use.

Take care,
Leona

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List 2.0 FAQs

What is a WebMD List?

Who can add comments and ratings?

You ask for my comments. What would you like me to write there?

How do I add comments and ratings?

I'd like to add a new item to the list. How can I do that?

After I add a rating, comment, or additional content, how soon will it show up?

What if I rethink my rating, comment, or content and want to change it?

My review or content was edited or deleted. What comments/content are okay?

How is the optional background information used?

Are real names or email addresses required?

What should I do when I see comments or content that are not appropriate?

What should I do if I or someone I know has experienced an adverse event from taking a drug or medication?

I have additional comments about my experience that don't make sense to put here. Where can I share them?

What is a WebMD List?

WebMD's List product allows our users to provide their personal ratings, reviews, comments, or add their own content for various sponsored or editorial topics. Each list is different and allows different types of member interaction. To get started, visit our WebMD Lists home page.

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Who can add comments or ratings?

Any member who feels he or she has knowledge of a subject, disease, condition, etc., pertaining to the list topic, is allowed to comment on or rate that list topic, if commenting and rating are available.

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You ask for my comments. What would you like me to write there?

Whatever you think would be useful to others. For example, maybe it's not easy to rate an item just using a star system. There could have been complications with using a medication at first that later disappeared. Or, perhaps your condition progressed in a different way than expected, and you'd like to explain in more detail. Anything that you think would be helpful to other readers; we would love to know about it.

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How do I add comments or ratings?

When you open the List, you will see "Rate This" and/or "Post a Comment" linked at the bottom of the page. You click on either of those links, and you will be taken to a page where you can rate and/or add your comments to the list. Once you've input your comments, you can provide a screen name and other optional background information that will help us continue to make the user experience with Lists better or you can choose to remain anonymous. Be sure to review WebMD's Terms and Conditions before posting!

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I'd like to add a new item to the List. How can I do that?

Some lists will allow members to add a new item. If so, there will be an additional link at the bottom of the list that says, "Add your own _____ by clicking HERE." Follow the link to add your content to the list. Please remember to review WebMD's Terms and Conditions before posting your content.

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After I add a rating, comment, or additional content, how soon will it show up?

If ratings, commenting, and suggestions are available on the List, your additions will show up immediately.

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What if I rethink my rating, comment, or content and want to change it?

Once you've posted your ratings, comments, or content to a List that information goes live (so be careful before you click the submit button) within a few minutes. If you change your mind, you will be able to make additional comments as long as the List remains live. Once the List is closed, no more ratings, comments, or content can be added by our users.

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My review was edited or deleted. What comments or content is okay?

When adding a comment or content to a WebMD List you must still abide by WebMD's Terms and Conditions, to which you agreed when you joined our site. Some reasons a comment may be deleted are use of profanity, using personally identifying information (such as your real name or email address or phone number or someone else's real information), violating copyright, spam, or personal attacks. For further information on why your comments or content may have been edited or deleted, please also see our Community FAQs. If you have specific questions about your removed comment, please write to our staff at webmdcommunity@webmd.net.

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How is the optional background information used?

The more other users know about another user's rating of a topic, the more valuable those ratings become. An 18-year-old college student might have a different experience regarding a medication or condition than a post-menopausal woman of 60. Once we have a good sampling of this data, we'll begin letting you search to cross-reference this information.

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Are real names or email addresses required?

You won't need to log-in or enter your real name or email address before using the List product. You're welcome to use your regular WebMD community name or you can create a user name just for this one rating. What we do ask is that you not use a real name or any other personally identifying information features about yourself. We request this for your own privacy. Read our Privacy Policy to understand how we treat your information.

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What should I do when I see comments or content that are not appropriate?

Report them right away. Every comment or piece of content on a List has a "report this post" button right below the content. If you see a post that you don't think is appropriate for our site (it might be spam. Or a user harassing another user.), then click that button and the system will send us an automatic email. If we find it violates our Terms & Conditions, then we'll remove it permanently.

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What should I do if I or someone I know has experienced an adverse event from taking a drug or medication?

If you think you or someone in your family has experienced a serious reaction to a medical product, let the Food and Drug Administration know. You can report this yourself with the Online Reporting Form or take the reporting form to your doctor. You can find more information at the MedWatch Home page.

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I have additional comments about my experience that don't make sense to put here. Where can I share them?

Right here at WebMD! We have scores of support groups online with thousands of users talking about their treatment options, along with top physicians available for questions. Go to our Message Board index to look up the right group for you.

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WebMD Registration Changes

Hello WebMD Members!

Thanks for dropping by the community blog. If you are a registered member of WebMD.com, we have some important information to share with you. Being a registered member means you signed up for an account and have a member nickname that follows you around when you log in.

We are preparing to launch some updates to our registration system that may affect the way you log in to our site. If you have more than one account with us under the same email address, you will want to read the information below closely.

And check out the following FAQs for more information.

Happy Posting!
Leona


What's happening?
WebMD will soon be launching an update to our registration system. These updates will allow us to greatly enrich your WebMD experience.

When will this change occur?
The scheduled date for this registration system update is 12/12/2008 (please note this date has been changed), and is subject to change.

How will I be notified?
You will receive an email about a week before the changes go into effect, reminding you to be on the watch for those changes.

What will change for me?
1. The first time you log in after the registration update, we'll need a few minutes of your time to confirm your account profile and the data already on file.

2. From that point on, when you log in to WebMD you will always use the email address on your account. If you've been logging in with a "User Login" name, you'll need to start using your email address instead. If you've already been logging in with your email address, there will be no change.

You're getting rid of the "User Login" name, but what about my Screen Name?
The Screen Name on your account will stay the same as it was before, and will continue to be displayed when you participate in community areas, such as message boards and chat rooms.

What if I have more than one account, in order to post comments with more than one Screen Name?
You can continue to use and create multiple accounts, but each account will need a different email address. The first time you log in with each additional account, if the email address for that account is not unique, we'll ask you to enter a different one. Each accounts email address will need to be validated through the process noted above.

What will happen to comments I've already posted?
All of the comments you've posted in the past will be unaffected by these system changes.

I'm concerned about my personal information. Are there any privacy issues created by these registration system enhancements?
No. WebMD is committed to your privacy. For more information about our privacy practices, please visit http://www.webmd.com/policies/about-privacy-policy.

If you have any further questions or would like to provide feedback, please use the Contact Us link at the bottom of every page. The WebMD Customer Care Team is ready to serve you Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST).

Staff Note: This blog post has been updated to reflect a change in the date that this new registration process will begin.

New Message Boards at WebMD

I am proud to announce that we've added several new message boards to our offerings in the WebMD community!

Here is the list:

Breastfeeding: Support Group

Could I Be Pregnant: Support Group

Marathon/Walk-a-thon Training: Member to Member

Parenting: 4 & 5-Year-Olds

Postpartum Depression: Support Group

TTC (Trying to Conceive): 12 Months, Still Trying

Urinary & Bladder Problems: Support Group

If these boards aren't your cup of tea, we have more than 150 other health and wellness topics to choose from. Check out our main Message Board list to find the community that's right for you!

Leona

Rock Your WebMD Profile Page!

If you're a member of the WebMD community, you have a profile page that you can use to tell the rest of us a little bit about you. Amazingly, not everyone takes advantage of this cool tool.

There are two sides to your WebMD profile page. The first is for your friends on the site to see. It's the public you. You can rock it out with your favorite image, talk about why you came to WebMD, share some of your favorite things, and even link up to your personal website or blog. The public page also includes a list of some of your most recent posts so your friends can keep up with what you're saying on the site.

Here's a visual of what one of our board hosts, Kathy_WebMD, has on her public profile:



You'll notice Kathy has a photo of her son "Little Dude" as her image on the page. If you're worried about using personal photos, you can always just use an image or photo that isn't personal, but that you feel represents something about you. Some members use photos of their pets, some who love gardening may have a flower or gardening tools, others choose an image that represents how they may be feeling for the moment. You can change your image at any time.

You can write as much or as little as you want to about yourself in the question section. It's a great way to find out what you have in common with your WebMD board friends.

I have to toss in a note of caution, though. Be sure that you don't include too much personally identifying information in there. It's easy to forget that folks other than just your friends can see your public profile. Also, most content on the web is searchable, so maybe use only your first name or a nickname rather than your real or full name. And you NEVER want to list your address or phone number.

Another great reason to beef up your WebMD profile page is that our staff often spotlights members on our Community Home Page.

We've actually just added a neat new Meet the Community section to the top of that page:



Ideally, we'd like to feature four members each week, so get that profile updated and rockin' just in case we choose YOU! (Don't worry, we won't sneak up on you. We'll alert you first. *wink*)

In addition to your public profile, there is also a private side that only you see. That is the place you can store your favorite boards and threads and your personal tag cloud.

So, if you haven't taken the time to fill out your WebMD member profile, I hope you'll do that soon!

Leona

July 4th Friday Five

Our lovely Louise always posts a Friday Five on the Health Cafe message board for our members to enjoy. This week's five is all about the July 4th holiday.

Here is the post. We hope you'll drop in and share your answers with us.

Leona

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Louise_WebMD_Staff
Fourth of July Friday Five

1. How will you celebrate the Fourth of July?

2. What was the best fireworks show you ever saw?

3. Have you ever been in a Fourth of July parade?

4. Which do you like better-the Declaration of Independence or the U.S. Constitution?

5. Do you wear any special red, white and blue clothes for the holiday?

Post of the Day: Sunscreen & Sunburn

Hi WebMD community peeps!

I've not been posting this week because I am actually on vacation! We took our family on a week-long beach excursion to Edisto Island, South Carolina. It's lovely here, but I just had to take a moment to pop in and see how all of our WebMD community members and fans are doing.

Almost everyone loves the beach, but we all know that, though the sun is fun, sunburn is extremely dangerous for our skin. We've been packing on the sunscreen all week, and trying to avoid the lobster look. The kids don't leave the condo without at least SPF 30 slathered all over. (Despite the insistance of my teens that they just DON'T NEED sunscreen that strong!)

So far, we've managed to avoid the burn.

To keep in line with my theme of fun in the sun, I found this post by one of our board moderators - Pam -- on the Skin Care: Share Your Tips board. Take a peek and share your thoughts about sunscreen and sunburn remedies.

Be good to your skin this summer!

Leona

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Pam_WebMD_Staff
Sunscreen? Sunburn Remedy?

The summer sun can be so damaging, and we all know it's important to use a good sunscreen. But there are so many to choose from! From PABA-free to Active Sprays to gels and pastes, I don't think we've ever had this many choices when it comes to UV protection.

I'm fair-skinned, and I live in Florida, so I opt for a high SPF all the time. I use a lotion most of the time, but if I'm working in the yard, or playing at the beach, I prefer a no-run active spray so that it doesn't get in my eyes. My youngest child likes the kind of lotion that goes on purple but dries invisible. It helps him apply it evenly.

What sunscreens work best for you and your family? Do you use different products for different situations?

And what do you do when you experience sunscreen failure and wind up with a burn? I've seen some interesting remedies, from fresh aloe leaves (my own favorite tried and true remedy) to Solarcaine spray or other commercial product, to sponging vinegar onto the burned area.

I pick fresh aloe and slice the spines off. Then I pop the leaves into the fridge for about 15 minutes before I split them open and rub the goop onto the affected area. So very soothing, even if it's not the nicest-looking or -smelling thing ever.

I look forward to hearing what works for you.
Pam_WebMD


Related Topics:

• Children's Sun Protection: Tips for Parents
• US Adults Skimp on Sun Care

Technorati Tags: sunscreen, sunburn, kids, sunburn remedies